Violet's stage fright mostly extends to singing her original pieces, as she is able to sing in the bar doing karaoke to help Cammie and Rachel break up a fight between customers. Violet tells Kevin she inherited her stage fright from her now deceased mother, who also moved to New York in her youth to pursue her dreams of singing. Kevin commits himself to helping Violet overcome her stage fright, which she is informed she will have to do to have her songs heard. Kevin tells Violet that she owes him, so Violet agrees to go on four dates with him. Kevin turns up at the bar, and Violet auctions him off to another woman at the bar to earn the money. However, Lil decides she can work at the bar if she can make up $250 in one night.

At her second audition, Violet douses the fire warden in water which costs Lil $250. Violet's first audition does not go well, but after Violet breaks up a fight between two customers, Lil gives her a second audition. She finds her way to the bar and convinces the bar owner Lil to give her an audition. After inquiring, she finds out that they work at a trendy bar named Coyote Ugly. With only a few dollars left in her pocket after her apartment is burglarized, she goes to an all-night diner and notices three girls, Cammie, Rachel, and Zoe, flaunting the hundreds of dollars in tips they earned. When she discovers the joke, Violet feels hurt because she thinks Kevin was trying to make her look foolish. The bartender jokingly points out Kevin O'Donnell, making her believe that he is the bar owner. One night, she tries to get herself noticed by a music industry scout.

Violet tries multiple times to get her demo tape noticed by the recording studios but is unsuccessful. Violet Sanford leaves her hometown of South Amboy, New Jersey, her father Bill, and her best friend Gloria, to pursue her dreams of becoming a songwriter in nearby New York City.

Coyote ugly bar